Heart of the Mind
by AznChibi
Summary: The prequel to the sequel of Ninja Taboo: The tale of a broken angel. GenmaxOC
1. Silence

I obviously don't own Naruto, but I do own Riku.

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**Dedicated to my wonderful co-author, Neverlookbacksamurai**.

This is the prequel/preview of the sequel to Ninja Taboo. Enjoy.

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_It's hot…_

Why was everything on fire?

She scanned the area, seeing the flames licking the edges of the roof, reflecting off the large pools of blood that slowly spread and collected together.

"Riku!"

What? She looked ahead and saw a familiar face running towards her with an arm stretched out.

_I know her…what's her name again…?_

Her hand twitched as it urged to reach out for the hand that was trying so hard to reach her.

_I…I can't move…_

What's going on?

A group of people suddenly appeared, also racing towards her with expressions of fear, desperation, and despair. She opened her mouth to speak, but there were no words. No sound. Her legs had no feeling, no strength, and gave away. Time seemed to slow as she fell to her knees, everyone too far away to catch her.

_It hurts…_

What was happening to her? Her eyes glanced down, widening in horror as she looked at her knees soaked in a puddle of her own blood flowing out from a gaping hole in her abdomen. She gasped for air and collapsed onto her side, feeling a light pressure on her shoulder. She noticed a red stained hand touching her hesitantly, as if she might break. Her eyes slowly gazed up; the woman's face suddenly jogging her memory. She took a long breath, feeling very minimal air coming in and forced out a quiet,

"I…I'm sorry…Katsuki…"

And with that, her eyes blurred and her vision faded away in darkness...

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Her dark brown eyes snapped open suddenly, her arms automatically pushing herself up off her back. She panted with her head twisting side to side, slowly taking in the darkness of the dim bedroom. Her body instinctively curled forward with her knees drawn up to her chest, taking in a few deep breaths while her hand touched the middle of her abdomen. She cradled her forehead with a hand, feeling the cold sweat in her palm and the back of her white tanktop.

"…Riku?" said the low, groggy voice of a man that sat up with her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His hand ran through his short brunette hair as his mind started up again, the information he saw slowly processing and making sense to him. He gazed at the moonlit figure of the woman, her forehead resting on her knees now. He lifted the sheets off and his arms slowly wrapped around her, pausing when he felt her body involuntarily twitch underneath his touch. "It's ok." He whispered as he gently pulled her into his chest. He rubbed her cool arm, his keen ears listening to her quiet muttering.

"…Is it my fault…"

It seemed less and less like a question each time she said it as she gripped her arms in her lap, a tear rolling down her cheek. She took in her breaths erratically through her mouth, her stomach churning with fear and horror as the images replayed in her head. Her eyes examined the area around her, her thoughts unscrambling and setting in. "Is it my fault..."

"Shh..."

She felt a drop falling down the same route her tear had made before, spreading out when it had hit the place where her cheek touched his skin. The rhythmic pace she felt against her upper arm calmed her down slightly, taking her breaths slowly and regularly. She could hear the soft heartbeat through the warm skin of his chest, her own racing heart seeming to long for them both to sync.

He quietly pulled the thrown sheets over their legs, his black pants rustling against the sheets as he shifted them near her's. He let out a relieved sigh as he could feel her heart slow, giving a light kiss on her head. "It's ok." The words quietly floated through the air, never losing their reassurance no matter how many times he had said it before.

"…Genma?" She whispered to match his voice, her tone breaking in the middle.

"Hm?"

He waited patiently through the chilled silence of the night, listening to the faint melodies of the crickets outside until he felt her body leaning back. He followed suit and lowered them both onto the soft bed, the mattress creaking underneath their weight. His arms never left her, one cradling her head, the other draped over her side and rubbing her back just as he had with her arm.

The never ending silence.

As the two lay there, he could feel a thin, slender finger tracing unknown patterns on his chest, a quick tingle following in its wake. His eyes stared contently at the dark profile of the woman, but glanced down when the finger suddenly stopped in its path. He looked on, watching her hand linger in the air for a moment before she placed a kiss on his chest where her tear had fallen.

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This is my first story here on FF, so hope this is ok. Please review!

Ok, it is now officially done! I won't add anymore to this! I really just added somethings because 1. It bothered me that there was something missing, and 2. I'm avoiding homework.


	2. Broken

Just a short chapter for now, will write a longer one next.

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_I obviously don't own Naruto, but I do own Riku, and I'm using Daisuke with permission from Neverlookbacksamurai.  


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Dedicated to my friend, Sirica, who puts up with everything I throw at her...literally.

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"Riku, breakfast."

His voice called out from the huge room through the open bedroom door that included the living room, which took up most of the space, and the kitchen to the side. He paused for a few seconds, hoping for the answer he knew he wouldn't get. With a sigh, his made his way into his bedroom where he found the woman he loved with all his heart laying underneath navy sheets on her side towards the open window that blew the white mesh curtains inwards. Running a hand through his normally bandana covered hair, he took in the curved figure on the mattress, his eyes stopping to marvel at the white feathered wings tattooed across both her shoulder blades that were partially covered by the back of her tank top.

He felt grateful that Tsunade had given them, including Kakashi, two weeks off from their usually hectic schedules of missions and classes due to the recent events, but he really had no idea what to with Riku during their break that would help her in any way. He didn't have the power to stop her nightmares, to suppress the memories, but only to be by her and take care of her while her mind battled itself to keep possession of its sanity.

Circling the bed, he crouched down to her eye level, noticing her eyes were dull, distant, and a little blood-shot from the night before, not reacting in anyway even though he suddenly blocked the strong morning sun that was trying hard to drown the room in its light. His lips pulled down into a small frown as he stared at her catatonic-like state, exhaling, frustrated, through his nose.

"Riku?" He tried again.

This time, he could see her eyes twitch to look at him, most likely only seeing his worried expression. "Do you want any breakfast?" He barely saw her very slight attempt at nodding. Without warning, he gently picked up her bridal style, the sheets slipping quietly back onto the bed where it belonged, and carried her out to the vast living room and turning into the kitchen. He sat her on one the high stools that surrounded the long island counter and crossed the cold linoleum floor to the stove where he scooped the sizzling sunny-side up eggs and slid them onto some toast. Just as he set the ceramic plate down in front of her, the old muddled doorbell of their apartment sounded dully and gave him a start. He looked back as he walked to the door, relieved to see her chewing thoughtlessly on the corner of the toast and making her way to the egg, and pulled open the door. And of course, the first question that he was always bombarded with was…

"How is she?"

"Never just 'good morning' with you is it, Kakashi?"

"Fine, good morning Genma."

Genma stepped away from the door frame to allow enough room for the jonin and the black backpack styled carrier on him to enter. The sound of cute, bubbly gurgling purred from within the dark bundle supported with thick metal rods as Kakashi slipped the carrier off his back. He pulled out the little baby and it instantly grabbed Riku's attention away from her somewhat eaten breakfast, having finally gotten to the egg on top. "Daisuke-kuuuun!"

The seven month old turned his head to find the source of the sudden outburst, instantly squirming in Kakashi's arms, his own tiny hands reaching for the woman he thought of as his mother in his innocent eyes. She quickly took him and cradled him before he managed to slip out from the masked man's grasp, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the small smile that spread across the baby's plump cheeks. Sitting down on the couch, Riku held him and watched his little fingers twisting around the bundles of her long, pure white hair that had fallen over her shoulder.

"You have amazing timing." Genma said quietly to Kakashi who was setting the carrier and another backpack that contained many infant needs against the wall.

"Of course, don't I always?"

Daisuke, being the curious little one, began squirming again, climbing up off Riku's lap and curling his short arm around her neck for support as he peeked over her shoulder and touched the black lines that drew out the wings on her back.


	3. Sake

**Dedicated to...I'll change this when I think of someone. Nah, kidding. For Amber with all you sweet hair colors.

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They hung out all day in Genma's apartment, well, it really was more like Genma _and_ Riku's now that she been here ever since the landowner kicked her out of her own apartment for not paying rent for four months. They hung out just like old times in that apartment complex that they all lived in together years before. Maybe it was because they really had nothing to do during their time off, or was it to forget? The guys seemed to have been doing a lot better since it happened two days ago, but Riku? Of course not. It was weird. Well, Genma didn't know her as long and Kakashi had all the baby things to worry about, whereas Riku really had nothing that occupied her besides the little time she spent with Daisuke, so it was understandable, right?

Anyway, Kakashi was packing up the scattered baby toys and sleeping Daisuke into the carrier. As he hitched everything onto his shoulders, he wobbled quite a bit, most likely from the bottle of sake each of them had at dinner.

Riku was unsure about letting him navigate his way home even just slightly intoxicated with Daisuke on his back. She was also curious about what was wrong with him from the moment he became all quiet when they started drinking. As he wound his way to the door, she grabbed her haori off the back of the couch and went over to Genma who was holding open the door.

"I'm gonna walk home with him, just in case." She said in a low voice as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"Want me to come with?"

Riku smiled up at him, knowing he just really wanted to walk with her all through the quiet night of Konoha, and shook her head. "It'll be fine. Plus, I have something I want to talk to him about." She heard him sigh in disappointment and slipped the silver ring he had given to her as a birthday present off her finger and into his hand. His expression changed to subtle surprise. "Hold onto that…just in case." She followed Kakashi out the door before Genma could get a word in and steered the jonin down the metal stairs from their floor.

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"Kakashi, where are your keys?" Riku searched through the many pockets of the carrier then through his pants pockets, coming up short.

"Huh…?" He looked at her with a disoriented look and finally managed to point out the extra key underneath a potted plant next to the door after his pointing finger went all over the place, even to the sky.

Riku directed him into the dark apartment, only able to find a clear route by the moonlight from the windows, and wrestled the carrier off his back gently without waking Daisuke. She took him into the room with the crib and set him in it, straightening sharply when she suddenly heard a loud thump. Peeking out, she noticed Kakashi's arm hanging off the back of the couch and walked around it to lean over his half-awake face. "You really need to learn how to hold your liquor."

He stirred and looked up at her through glazed eyes before his hand curled around the back of her neck and jerked the kunoichi down till her lips violently crashed against his. Her eyes were wide with shock but her body relaxed as her mouth molded to his.

She didn't struggle; she didn't try and pry herself away. She took it. After what felt like an hour, he finally loosened enough for both of them to take in some much needed air. In the dim light she could see how distant and glazed his eyes were and figured he wasn't in touch with reality enough to see who he was kissing, the strong scent of sake filling the air while the two caught their breaths further proving her theory. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her over him on the large couch. She supported her weight with her hands beside either side of his head and felt his hands snaking down her back as their lips met once more. During the tangle, her haori was pushed off her shoulders and her tank top straps fell to the side. She pulled away enough to talk after a bit, "Kakashi, what is it that you want?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

Riku sighed through her nose and closed her eyes, thinking about all of this. She finally opened her eyes to look at him again, seeing his drunken ones. "Would it help if I did it with you?" She heard him grunt out an 'uh huh' and leaned down into his ear, whispering, "I will, on one condition. You need to remember…I'm not Katsuki."

Kakashi took it in slowly, at first nodding, but then taking in a strong gasp. He firmly pushed her up and sat up himself, avoiding her gaze with a shocked appearance. He kept mouthing what looked like 'I' over and over, not able to push out the slightest sound. With a heavy sigh, he cradled his forehead in his hand and drew his legs back enough for her to sit on the cushions. "I-I…Riku…I'm…"

Riku listened to his stuttering as she pulled up her top straps and her haori back onto her shoulders, waiting silently as the alcohol coursing through him began to wear off. When he was able to look up, she could see the moon reflecting off the tears welled up in his eyes that threatened to pour over at any time, causing her own to come forth. Her arms instinctively went up and smoothly tugged him into a hug. She felt his arms wrap around her tightly and nodded into his shoulder.

"I know…I miss her too."

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Genma was jerked from his book when he heard the door peeled away from its frame and set it down on the table as Riku closed the door quietly. He watched her come over to the end of the couch he was laying on before asking, "That took a while, did you get lost?" He grinned.

"Nah, things just came up." She sat down on the narrow strip of cushion he left by his hip, noticing him shift over a little to give her some more room.

"Did you do something to your neck?"

"Hm?" She patted her neck once with her hand and looked at her palm, seeing a thin line of dry blood across it. "Oh. Must've happened when he kissed me."

"…What?"

She didn't turn to see what kind of face he was making and continued on. "He ended up falling on the couch from the sake and I checked on him, but then he pulled me down onto him and kissed me."

"Did you manage to get away?"

She could hear the concern in his tone now, maybe even some anger brewing. "I didn't try. I kissed him back." Hearing no respond for a few seconds, she continued, "He wanted me to sleep with him, and I would've, if it meant easing his pain." She glanced over, not able to read any sort of emotion.

"…Did you?"

"No. I talked to him about it. I didn't think he would, but I wasn't going to push him away if he was going to."

"How could you do that?"

"Because I know how he feels."

"You didn't feel any shame when you promised him that?" He sat up and stared her straight in the eyes, his jaw clenched.

"A little, but it wouldn't mean much to me if it was with him. Besides, aren't you satisfied enough that you have possession of my first?"

He sighed and his entire body seemed to relax slightly from the great tension that had built up.

"Now you get a choice. Are you going to give me back that ring or give it to someone else?"

Her eyes followed his back as he stood and drifted off to the middle of the room, lingering in a spot for a moment before swaying to a different one, almost pacing but always stopping right before. Occasionally he would look down at her with a disapproving gaze that Riku could tell he was trying hard to hold back. His hands were stuffed into his pockets as he mulled through all the thoughts, the indifferent look on Riku's face not helping him any. Finally, he exhaled the strain and stepped back to the woman, crouching down and gently taking her hand.

"That's a stupid question." He took her hand and slipped the ring back on her right ring finger, pulling her over into a kiss unlike the one she had been forced into before. "And as compensation, guess what we're doing tonight?" He grinned into the kiss. "You taste like sake."

"You do too so don't complain."

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A/N: I would really appreciate reviews ^_^  
10.3.08: Alright, done.


	4. Kyoko

You know how horrible and painful it is on your eyes when the sun shines into them in the morning?

Riku scrunched up her eyes as that exact thing happened to her and turned her head so she slept on her other cheek and away from the bright light, but opened her right eye a little when she felt how warm it was. As her senses began to start-up once more, she realized how warm she felt all over, except for the back of her shoulders where there was nothing covering them, and began to register the hand rested on her lower back next to the sheets that covered everything below that. Underneath her, she could hear a faint beating and feel the smooth skin right at the tips of her fingers.

"Good morning." He said with a smile in his voice and wrapped her arms around the woman who had slept on top of him for the latter part of the night.

"Hey…how come the sheets never manage to get past my waist?" She said with a raised eyebrow as she crawled out from his arms, taking the sheets with her. Remembering Genma was just as bare as she was, she picked up a pair of discarded pants off the floor and tossed it over him. "Come on, there's nothing in the fridge and I need breakfast."

He grunted when his pants landed on him, a light hiss escaping when the cold zipper touched his stomach. Nodding a little, listening to her words and processing them with a half-asleep mind, he climbed out of bed slowly and dressed himself with his eyes barely open. As he did, Riku got herself cleaned up in the bathroom, looking forward to a day to relax…and just forget. Even for a day.

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They finally made it out of the apartment after going back in for wallets and coats, and were walking down the street towards the shops that were beginning to populate as people were waking up. Riku walked to the right of Genma as she scanned down the lines of stores on either side of them, spotting the grocery store a ways down, though the one thing that caught her eye the most was a girl to her right with a woman holding her small hand. The girl looked about eight or nine and had brunette hair tied into two pigtails at the bottom. She turned her head as her curiosity directed her gaze all over the place until her slate-colored eyes fell upon Riku's matching ones. A smile lit up the girl's face, bring one to Riku's, though the woman's eyes told otherwise. With a small wave, reciprocated by the child's, Riku turned back to the front and noticed a confused expression from Genma out of the corner of her eye.

"Who is that girl exactly? I've seen her around before."

"Just a little girl I see and talk to sometimes around town and when I pass by the acade-" Riku was cut off when she felt small fingers wrap around her index and a light tug down. She stopped and glanced down, realizing it was the little girl. With a light chuckle she crouched down to the girl's eye level and held her hand delicately. "Hey, Kyoko. What are you doing away from your mother?" Riku asked with a smile, looking past Kyoko to see the stern looking mother who was showing impatience rather strongly.

"I want to be with you today." Kyoko's young voice rang clearly, even through the noise of the street, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Riku's neck in a hug.

Riku hugged her back, much lighter than she was, and picked her up into her arms. As she stood, Riku could feel slight regret but shook it off quickly and turned to Genma. "I'll be right back."

Genma took in the image of his love with the child in her arms, noticing how perfect the two looked together and how deep he could see into Kyoko's eyes. He watched them walk to the side where the apparent mother was standing with a bag held tightly in her hand. Suddenly, he saw the narrowed glare she was shooting at Riku, then at him for the tiniest moment that sent a shiver through his spine. Did she not like Riku holding her child? Whatever the reason, it didn't seem to bother Riku, if she noticed at all. But what really bothered him was how different she held Kyoko compared to holding Daisuke. This seemed so much more…needing.

Riku braced for the confrontation with the woman as she set Kyoko down on her feet, coaxing the little arms to release her neck. "Good morning, Haruka-sama." She greeted, straightening up before bowing to a complete ninety degrees.

"Do you remember the agreement, Riku?" Haruka looked down at the bowing woman before her and the little girl who clung to the haori.

"…Yes ma'am." Riku didn't straighten, refusing to look at Haruka in the eyes, but instead glanced to the side to see Kyoko's hands gripping her coat.

"Well then, come along Kyoko." Haruka motioned to her daughter with a small wave with the impatient tapping of her foot.

Riku sighed and crouched down in front of Kyoko again, holding her tiny hands in her own. She leaned into the girl's ear, "I'll see you at school, ok?" She said, pulling back with a smile.

Kyoko nodded and went back to Haruka quickly. The two resumed their weekly shopping holding hands and quickly vanished into the wave of people.

Riku stood up and fixed her haori as she walked back to a concerned looking Genma. She put on a small smile and tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?"

Genma weighed his need to ask her what all that was about, but realizing her smile didn't touch her eyes, he decided against it with a head shake. "Nothing, let's go."


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